Chase the Horizon
by Shoa UK
Summary: shuichi thought it would be nice to have party for yuki's bday, how wrong could he be? very as it turns out as they end up half the way round the world trying to chase two very different careers. mayhem will ensue alongside the serious stuff! R&R xxx
1. the end of the start

**A/N: **Okay my first gravi fic! BIG BIG thanks to Kat for telling me about the series and for so patiently copying them for me! *grins sheepishly* That's about it for now. Sorry if Yuki seems a little out of character but it's soooo hard to write him properly. Oh, and I want Hiro's hair! It rocks! ^_^

**Warnings: **Pg –13 for some bad language.

**Stuff: **I don't own Post-It notes, nor do I share Yuki's feelings on them. Post-It notes kick ass!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The alarm on Yuki's bedside table went off, it's loud ringing cutting through the duvet over the blonde's head. Sleepily, opening an amber eye like a dozing lion, Yuki groaned and closed it again. Reaching a hand out from the warmth of the bed he silenced the annoying sound and sighed. He pulled the covers tighter around him. Perhaps he'd stay in bed a bit longer, he wasn't wanted at the publishers until eleven, and it was warm and comfy just here. It was blissful Shuichi free time as well, or so he thought.

"Yuuuukiiii!"

"Noooo… you're at work!" Yuki moaned as the pink haired singer grabbed the blue duvet. 

"Happy birthday!" Shuichi grinned, looking down at him.

"I don't do birthdays. Go away." Yuki replied sleepily, wrestling the sheets back. 

"Wrong! You do now, because today is the day of your birth, your birthday. So there." 

Shuichi stuck out his tongue. Yuki glared at him, the annoyance coming easily to him.

"Well whatever your inane and childish plans are; I have my own. I'm going to see my dear friend the publisher today. Kindly bugger off." 

"Yukiiiiiii!" The younger boy whined crawling towards his prone boyfriend. 

"Don't even think about it!" Yuki hissed trying to move out of Shuichi's way. 

It was too late though, and Shuichi pounced taking advantage of the fact that Yuki was tangled in the bedclothes. After a brief tussle Shuichi won his place nestled under Yuki's arm, the blonde grudgingly allowed him to stay there. He told himself it was that he had no choice as trussed up as he was, but somewhere secretly he wanted to. Shuichi's wide violet eyes looked up at him. He was the only person to have ever acknowledged this day in a long time. It was just like him,

"Sentimental, aren't you?" 

Shuichi scrunched up his nose in an answer. 

What had that boy done to him? Yuki felt his mood change in a second from the usual 'pissed off' morning mood to 'vaguely human and might listen if you're quick', something normally only achieved by time, black coffee and cigarettes. 

"And you're in a good mood." Shuichi grinned happily. 

"I'm not." 

But Yuki's heart wasn't in it and the words could just about pass as kind. He dipped his head and lightly kissed Shuichi's lips. 

"You are." Breathed the pink haired boy breathlessly.

"Alright, maybe I am, but it's only because I get a day away from you."

"But it's your _birthday _Yuki! You can't leave me today!"

"I can, I can do what I want. It's my birthday."

"Ah, so you admit it's your birthday!"

Yuki's face flickered as he realised he was caught in a trap. 

"Anyway, I've organised you a party so you have to come home!"

There was a moment of silence before Yuki registered the words. 

_You…party._ As in people. At his house. 

"YOU DID WHAT!?" 

Yuki jumped up bedclothes and all. Of course there was always the incredibly fucked off and angry mood as well. 

"Don't be angry!" Shuichi implored, watching his lover's eyes flash dangerously. He was like a tiger poised to pounce and Shuichi had been on the receiving end too many times to take it lightly. There was a moment of indecision in which Yuki contemplated what to with the bothersome brat. It was bad enough that he had to face up to the fact he was another year older without having to face crowds of people invading his apartment. 

Shuichi seized this moment and whipped out a brightly coloured package from some invisible pocket of his bright orange hoodie. 

"For youuuuu!" 

Yuki eyed him suspiciously. It was hard to be mad at the boy's naïve expression, especially since he was proffering the intriguing package. Yuki couldn't remember the last time he'd got a present from anyone. And Shuichi was cute after all…

"Please Yuki, you can pretend you hate me if it makes you feel better."

Scowling, the blonde took the present, wishing that Shuichi didn't have these moments of perceptiveness. Sitting back on the bed and with those violet eyes watching his every move Yuki unwrapped the package. 

"Why would I need these?" Yuki asked cocking an eyebrow. On his lap was a pad of Bad Luck merchandise paper and a biro. It was an unusual present to say the least.

"Well…erm…you see…" 

Yuki's eyes flared again and any thoughts of parties were pushed from his mind. 

"Shuichi…"

"Ibrokeyourlaptop." 

Shuichi was running before he finished the garbled sentence, his feet squeaking on the polished floor as he ran for his life.

"My… laptop?" Yuki gritted, glaring. Suddenly, he jumped from his place on the bed and belted after the singer, growling at the fleeing monstrosity.

"I'm sorry!" Shuichi shouted over his shoulder racing for the living room. 

"You will be you bastard, come back here!"

"Only if you promise not to kill me!" 

"I'll kill you if you come within a mile of me!"

"I'll keep running then!" Shuichi wailed, screeching around the coffee table and fleeing for the exit on the other side of the room. He made a few unnecessarily dramatic leaps over items of furniture before cannoning into the bathroom door, wrenching it open and diving inside.

Damn it, the boy was fast! Yuki couldn't keep up with him much less catch him. Shuichi disappeared into the bathroom and slammed the door, there was the sound of the lock clicking. Yuki reached the door and slammed his fist onto the barred entrance, sinking to the floor breathing heavily.

"You can't hide forever, Shuichi!" 

"I can wait until you go to your book thing!"

"There won't be a book if you've hurt a single inch of the computer!" Yuki retorted immediately. 

"I didn't mean to." Came the muffled reply from behind the door. It was too distant though, something wasn't right. What could he be doing? The thought struck Yuki in a sigh of exasperation. 

"You've got a towel on your head haven't you?"

"Yes." Came a small voice. 

Yuki growled, clenching his fists, he was angry at the fact that he wasn't angry. Not much anyway. Not like he usually was.

"What were you doing with my laptop?" He asked in a more regulated voice now his rapid breathing had settled down. Maybe if he could figure out what the bugger had done with his life, he could correct it. 

There was a loud sniff and the sound of someone getting into the bath, the squeaking of feet on porcelain evident.

"Looking at record sales on the internet then it…it kinda died."

"Oh…" Yuki clenched his fists harder digging his nails in his palms. Maybe annoyed was a better word than angry. 

"Can I make it up to you?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"No." Yuki sighed.

"Okay."

There was silence for a while in which Yuki chewed his lip thoughtfully. This wasn't right. Why wasn't he reacting like he usually would? He'd been told he was a cold bastard so often he'd come to believe it and reconciling with the past hadn't relieved him of that role yet. He let his fists unclench slowly. There were little red crescents on his palms where his nails had bit into the skin. What was the need? He thought looking at the imprints, for all the pain in his life? Maybe he created some of it for himself just like the ten tiny wounds on his hands, but then again maybe like the scars they would fade into distant memories. 

"Happy birthday to youuu-" A familiar voice began to sing, shaking Yuki out of his reverie. There were only two people Yuki knew that could turn the traditional verse into a rock hit and one of them was locked in his bathroom with, most likely, one of his fluffy towels on his head. 

Slowly, the door was opened a fraction. When nothing was hurled, insults or otherwise, Shuichi gradually appeared. 

Yuki leant against the wall with his thumb and forefinger pressed into a circle. 

"It was okay?" Shuichi gaped. The blonde pulled a face.

"Zero."

"Should have known." Shuichi said visibly sagging. 

"…Not completely unbearable though." 

Yuki was thrown to the floor by the force of Shuichi's attack. The pink haired singer squealed with delight and threw his arms around Yuki again. 

"Alright! Don't strangle me!"

"Sorry!" Shuichi replied breathlessly letting him go and sitting up. Yuki raised an eyebrow casting an eye over his grinning boyfriend straddled over him. 

"Is this my present then?" Yuki asked flicking his tongue into the corner of the other's mouth to see Shuichi's reaction.

"Eh? I-" Shuichi's face blushed bright red and he scrambled off Yuki as fast as he could. "I didn't-"

Yuki raised himself onto his elbows and laughed at the worried face on his boyfriend. With an effort he stood up. 

"Yuki I-"

"Can't get a sentence out?"

"No, I mean I-" He stuttered again in an overt display of embarrassment.

"Shh…" Yuki whispered pressing a finger to Shuichi's lips and dipping his head to bring his lips close. But he went no further, just left the kiss hanging between them unfulfilled. Shuichi's breath was soft on his skin, amber and violet eyes locked together, bodies angled towards the other like a flower following the sun. 

"Give me a real present Shuichi Shindou."

Slowly, Shuichi closed the gap between them, until their lips touched. The kiss was brief but deep. Shuichi felt Yuki envelope him with his arms, just as he was about to flick a stray strand of blonde hair from his lover's face Yuki pulled back. 

Yuki loathed leaving the soft warmth of Shuichi's mouth but visions of his laptop in pieces had filled his mind. 

"That was good, but not a present. I was thinking more of…a laptop?"

Shuichi's face fell at Yuki's teasing words.

"You're so CONFUSING, Yuki!" Shuichi growled, banging his curled fists on Yuki's chest.

"I'm not confusing, you're just stupid." Yuki replied with a rare smile. "But I don't mind."

"YOU-" Shuichi began in outrage, folding his arms and stamping indignantly. 

"Don't, you're cute when you pout."

Shuichi opened his mouth to protest but was dragged away before he could start. Yuki had a surprisingly steely grip and Shuichi had no choice but to follow. 

Yuki pulled the hapless singer into the hall and stopped only when they're bare feet reached the door. Shuichi had always called it 'the door' because to him it was more than an entrance to a room. Door implied access to a room but this door held the way into a world that Shuichi didn't understand, the world of Eiri Yuki. Yeah sure, he could walk through into the study, trace the line on the carpet where Yuki paced, look at the shelves and even, if he was feeling brave, sit on the executive leather swivel chair, but he could never truly understand. Why? So many of his questions began with it. He might think he'd got the measure of Yuki but by the time he'd figured it out Yuki'd go and do something to shatter it like disappear or put an arm around him and pull him close. To Shuichi that door represented everything he wanted to know and everything nobody wanted him to have. 

"So do I want to see what's in there?" Yuki's voice sounded deep and inviting in his ear. Shuichi was tempted to turn and plant a kiss on his cheek but thought better of it, instead he turned his best cute eyed look on a stonewall that to his utmost surprise crumbled and kissed his cheek instead.

Yuki closed his eyes and let the warmth of Shuichi's skin flow through him. Chastising himself for being so weak, Yuki grudgingly moved back and opened the door.

"What the… where is my laptop exactly?"

What met Yuki's eyes was not the chic and expressionless office he spent most of his life in. The steely veneered desk, which normally held his precious wafer thin laptop, was gone. Instead, it seemed a volcano erupting fluorescent coloured Post-It notes had been put in its place on the floor. It was a mess of horrible colour in a world of dark edged starkness. Pink, yellow, orange and green stared at Yuki. He didn't own a single Post-It note himself because for him they were far too happy. Paper shouldn't have a right to look smug. Leaving a worried looking Shuichi to stand and fiddle with his sleeve Yuki walked over to where his desk should be. Slowly he picked up one of the squares, the glue on the back immediately attaching itself to his finger in a way that said 'my purpose is to annoy' very loudly in garish colours. Reason two why he hated Post-It notes. Scrawly handwriting meandered randomly over the page in a way that would make any teacher take early retirement. "I'm really sorry, Shuichi x x x". He picked up another in yet another colour. "Sorry, love S xxx".

"Where did you get all these from?"

"I bought them." Whispered Shuichi, making sure he was staring at the floor. 

"You could've bought me a new laptop with the amount of money you spent on all these bits of bloody paper."

"Sorry."  

"You always are and sometimes it's just not enough!" The moment the words left his lips he regretted them. He knew they would hurt but they lined up in his head and escaped before he remembered that it wasn't needed anymore. Whatever his thoughts were though old habits died hard and his face remained impassive in the face of Shuichi's pain. Yuki wasn't prepared for what happened next though. It took him completely off guard. 

"I won't then! I'll take back every apology I've ever given you in your sad, miserable existence! You give an inanimate object more attention than another human being. When have you ever apologised to me for the being the complete bastard you are?!" 

Yuki didn't know what to say, Shuichi had never before rounded back with his own insults. Maybe America hadn't just changed him. Watching the treacherous tears spill over Shuichi's angry face Yuki thought of every tiny little gesture the boy had shown him and silently agreed that what ever he had done didn't match up the love Shuichi showed him. For a brief moment Yuki's face flickered as the thought passed through his head. 

"I don't care what happened to you in the past, it doesn't give you an excuse to put a laptop over me. I - I'm worth a thousand computers!" Shuichi finished in a tear choked voice and turned to run out.

"Wait! You are." 

The words reached out and wrapped themselves around Shuichi turning him back. In the second that Shuichi took to take in the scene before him something changed. It wasn't a role reversal so much as for a few minutes, Shuichi grew up. 

Yuki had his head in his hands, and Shuichi berated himself for feeling a pang of guilt. This was Yuki's own medicine after all.

"Come here- please." Yuki added the please almost as an afterthought, encouraged Shuichi moved over to him. When Yuki looked up Shuichi gazed up at him stunned, the fight had gone out of his eyes, like amber left in a draw for years. Some inner turmoil lingered there though and it changed the cold man completely. So different he was that Shuichi reached out and pulled Yuki to him. Desperately he buried his face in soft blonde hair.

"I didn't mean it…" Shuichi whispered, searching for a hint of the Yuki he knew anywhere…please let him be there…

This was what he feared most. Yuki slowly slipping form his grasp. Yuki's hand closed over his.

"I take you for granted Shuichi and- sometimes- I say things I don't mean."

Yuki's voice sounded distant, as though coming from somewhere inside him that wasn't used often.

"Was that an apology, Eiri?" Shuichi's mind didn't quite believe his ears. 

"As close as you'll get." Some invisible switch turned and reset the situation. Yuki sat up. "And don't call me Eiri."

But that strange moment of honesty wasn't entirely gone because the novelist reached up and put an arm around Shuichi's waist pulling him to sit on his lap. Overwhelmed by the sudden display of affection Shuichi snuggled close and revelled in Yuki's arms tight around him. Yuki closed his eyes and rested his head on Shuichi's.

It was rare Yuki was in this mood and Shuichi made the most of it, lightly brushing his fingertips on the blonde's cheek.

"It was a lapse…don't expect me to be nice all the time." Yuki said gruffly. Shuichi smiled the hurt of the last few minutes dissolving just like it had done so many times before. It was moments like this that kept Shuichi's faith in his boyfriend. All his hoping paid off every now and again and he wouldn't spoil the moment with presumptions or inopportune comments. 

"I'd best try to find my lap top under all this then, eh?"

Shuichi nodded afraid the mood might fade. His fears were unfounded though because Yuki let him stay sat on his knee as he swiped the mass of paper off his desk. A black edge appeared like a shark's fin in crystal waters.

"So there it is! You're safe for the moment."

Reason three why he hated Post-It notes. They were distracting. Reason four, the orange ones reminded him of the ancient hoodie Shuichi insisted on wearing at all times.  Reaching around the boy in question he opened the computer. Damn it, the boy was right, it was practically a friend, a dead one though. The screen remained stubbornly blank. 

"Look, I really didn't mean to…"

The boy on his knee turned round chewing his lip. God, did he really make people this nervous? Thinking about it he probably did. Which wasn't a bad thing, but not this person. It had been so long since he had lived outside his defences that he's forgotten how life worked for everyone else. To be totally honest with himself he was afraid of owning up to who he was. Fear wasn't normally an emotion associated with his persona. 

All the while his hands flickered over the computer. Just as he was about to drown in self pity the thought came to him.

"Batteries."

"What?" Shuichi's eyebrows rose at the random outburst.

"You haven't damaged it, it just needs recharging." Yuki flashed a rare grin. 

"Phew." Shuichi sagged back onto Yuki's shoulder leaving his neck bared. Yuki dived like a vampire and kissed the skin until it was bright pink. 

"Yukiiii!" Shuichi squirmed. Grinning at him, Yuki held him tightly until he was subdued.

"I've got to go." Yuki sighed plugging in the cable to the back of the laptop. The screen flickered on at the touch of a button. "Knock yourself out." He said standing. The wonderful world of the internet opened up before Shuichi, and he managed a goodbye smile before Yuki left the room. 

A while later when Yuki had dressed and gone Shuichi realised he had actually let him stay in his study and use his computer. He grinned. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: as usual it was fearless Katty who ploughed through this stuff beat-ing it for me, thanks! Hoped you liked it please leave a review for the ego's on your way out they appreciate it!

Pyromanic firework ~*


	2. propositions and opinions

**A/N: **Thanks for the response! Awwww, now I feel speshul… Anyways, as requested this is the party. Well, the build up and maybe the start of it. Maybe I should write this after I've finished the chapter. Ah well…

**Stuff: **Oh, I forgot to mention this but surprise, surprise I don't own anyone or anything associated however remotely with anything to do with Gravitation. So you'd better believe it.

And neither do I own any of the baking ingredients described!

I have decided to call mobiles, mobiles. Cells, mobiles whatever, for the sake of this they're mobiles. 

Kat: Sorry, Shoa's beta here, also a quick mention she might not have put in: the names in this fic are the English way around. Okie day! Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yuki looked at the white porcelain cup on the table in front of him. It was about as interesting as the dark stain of coffee in the saucer, which in turn was as interesting as the red checked table cloth below. He clinked the spoon against the cup, idly tapping out a tune. 

"Are you even listening, Eiri-san? Can you put that spoon down and stop tapping that infernal song all the kids listen to? I'm trying to tell you something and you're not even trying to listen."

Yuki put the spoon down and turned one of his best death glares on his publisher. A thought struck him. 

"How old are you?"

"- so the sales were- Huh? What?" Yamato looked up in surprise. The blonde author was staring at his coffee again.

"How old are you?" He repeated. 

"Forty two. Why?"  Yamato answered puzzled.

Yuki clenched his teeth. A thought came to him. So new that it was practically repulsive, that he, Yuki, was young. It was only the past year that he could've drunk in America or driven a car. The thought struck him so blindingly obvious that it was like saying the sun rose on a morning. 

"I'm twenty two today. Twenty-two years on this planet and what've I got to show for it? You've been in publishing longer than I've been alive."

Exasperated, Yamato sighed. The kid had everything: a talent for writing he hadn't seen in many years, fame, money, a nice car. What more could he want?

"What's wrong with you kids these days? You've got things at twenty-two that most of us never get in a lifetime. Quit whining and listen to me. Now the latest figures show an increase in-"

"Am I a kid?" Yuki persisted, a niggling thought growing in his mind.

"What? Look, Eiri, I'm not your therapist. If you want to pay me thousands of yen an hour I can be, but as it stands I'm your poor underpaid publisher. Not even that! I'm a go between for you and the big guy in the chair."

_Kid. _No one had ever called him 'kid', even when he was. Kid… an older person talking down to a younger one. Older, more experienced, a degree from the university of life. Right now Yuki felt like he was still in the changing rooms when everyone else was already out of the pool and in the sauna. Why didn't he understand? A long time ago he had been left behind, then with one reflex action of his index finger he had been catapulted into adulthood, his childhood ripped from him. It had left a gaping hole in him, but it had also unleashed his ability to write. To put the raw emotions he felt so keenly onto paper. It helped to fill the blank in his life, to create a world outside his own, so he didn't have to feel his own pain anymore. 

"EIRI YUKI!"

Yuki jumped and glared at Yamato who had brought his fist down on the table in frustration. The guy was always stressed but this was the first time he had been shouted at in a public place. Sure he'd ducked a few projectile desk objects in his time, but he'd never been shouted at like this. 

"What?" He asked coldly. 

Yamato took a deep breath to calm himself. "Are you over your little blip? Can we continue talking about your work? The best literature Japan has ever seen?" 

Yuki narrowed his eyes and inclined his head. 

"Good. Yuki, your new novel has topped the lists in Japan and in America under a translation. It's sold out. We're paying the printing guys six figure sums to get more. Do you understand that?"

"Yes." Yuki replied emotionlessly.

"And? Don't you have an opinion on that?"

"Can I go now?" 

"NO! We have to talk."

"I thought that was what we were doing?" 

"For god's sake, don't play games. What I mean is, where do you want to go? The boss wants to know, as do I'm sure a lot of other people. Are you happy to keep spewing out best selling novels? He's getting worried that this is too good to last."

"As long as I have hands to write I will. Does that satisfy you?"

"No! What if you lost your hands in a horrible kitchen accident?"

Yuki cocked an eyebrow and sighed, this was getting beyond ridiculous. He wanted to go. Away from the plastic covered tablecloth and the cheap wicker chairs. Away from these questions that were raising imponderable thoughts in his mind. 

"Then I'd make Shuichi be my scribe. Happy?"

Yamato smiled and clasped his hands together. He wasn't religious but he did believe in having security of sanity and for that he'd thank anyone who may or may not be listening. His boss wanted Yuki's word he would carry on writing and Yamato could say he had it; his job was safe for now. But then there was the other issue to tackle, the one devised by the greedy money-grabbing guy on a leather chair that called himself Boss. 

"Yes. Now about this expansion-"

Just as planned and right on cue, Yuki cut across.

"What expansion?"

Yamato chose his words carefully, now not only fearing for his job but the possible damage those eyes could do to his nervous system. 

"Well… the Boss was wondering, ya see… that seeing as though you're the best author-"

"Yeah, yeah don't sweet talk me Yamato. What does he want me to do?"

"Well, he's got a big opportunity for you-"

"What is it…?" 

Yamato winced, Yuki hardly ever asked questions he directed statements with deadly accuracy instead. Questions were below him most of the time.

"He wants you to consider taking your writing in a new direction."

"Like what?"

"West, for example."

"America?"

"Ermm…no. Not exactly. A little further. You already have a loyal following in the States as well as in Japan, he was thinking more of England."

"Huh…? What, that rainy little island in the middle of the Atlantic?"

"Your grasp of geography is amazing, but your sarcasm? That was perfect. Yes, England."

Yuki let the words mull around in his mind. England. It had a nice ring to it. How could it work though? England was famously the land of wordsmiths, their language almost universally spoken in someway. It would be tough to break in.

"It'll be tough but, once you're in the market its just a case of how fast we can produce books. They've already been translated, so no worries there, all that matters is the demand."

Yuki remained silent. Thinking, the sparks of activity passing from neuron to neuron faster than a blinking eye. 

"We were thinking of a promo tour, signings and appearances. Bigger than anything we've done before, it'll add noughts to your bank account."

"I'd have to go to England?"

"Errr, yes. Just for a year or so. But it'd be-"

There was the scraping of a cheap wicker chair being dragged back over tiles and expensive yet carelessly chosen shoes walking away. 

"I'll think about it." Yuki called back over his shoulder.

Yamato gaped at the receding figure. He was still alive, with all his appendages, he high-fived the air. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 "200 grams of sugar… huh? Sakumaaaaaa!"

Shuichi groaned as he turned round to see the sugar had been added to the mess of flour and eggs around Ryuichi.

"Seeeee! It's Kumagoro's castle! And now it's all snowy." The singer sprinkled some more sugar over the pile of baking ingredients on the floor. 

"Lovely, but ya see the thing is I need the sugar for the cake."

Ryuichi stuck out his tongue as Shuichi prised the precious sugar from his grasp. He smiled again though when he replaced it with hundreds and thousands in a sprinkley top.

"I hope Yuki isn't too mad…" Shuichi mused adding the final ingredient. He had had this party planned for weeks, forgetting that the thing Yuki hated most was having even the slightest glimmer of fun, but he had gone ahead anyway. It'd cheer him up more than anything else. Even if Yuki stormed out he could still have a party, and hell Yuki's place was big enough. Just as the pink haired singer was putting the cake in the oven the phone rang. Trust someone to ring at this vital moment. He wrinkled his nose, slamming the oven door, which bounced back open again. He kicked it, causing it to bang open again.

"Grrr! Shut, you bugger!" He firmly closed the door and ran out into the hall. Behind him, the stainless steel door swung open yet again. Grinning, Ryuichi closed it with a gentle click.

"Hello?"

"Shuichi? It's K."

"Errr, hi?"

No one ever called this phone wanting him. In fact it was so rare this phone ever rung he was surprised it knew how. 

"Is Ryuichi still there?"

"Yeah."

"Well don't let him get into too much trouble, will ya? Anyway, it was you I wanted to speak to-"

"But this is-"

"Yeah, his highness's line I know, just listen to me will ya? I've been talking to, well talked at, by Tohma and you need to round up your little band and womble on down to the studio."

"Now? But it's the weekend, K!"

"Yeah, my heart bleeds, but this is important. Trust me. Have I ever let you down?"

"No. Will we be long?"

"Depends how you want to play it. See ya in half an hour."

The line went dead and Shuichi replaced the receiver thoughtfully. What could K possibly want at this time? It was so annoying; his whole day was going to be screwed up. Muttering he pulled out his mobile. He knew Yuki would go ballistic if he used the landline. Flicking through the names in his phone book he pressed the call button when the name 'Hiro mob' came up. He counted the rings one, two, three…twenty one, twenty two…

"'lo."

"Twenty three rings Hiro! What if I really needed you?"

"Then you'd have to wait, I was on the phone to-"

"Her. I'd guessed-"

"Ooooh, Shuichi, getting jealous?"

"No, I have Yuki and you have Ayaka-chan, but this is important!"

"Go ahead then."

"K wants us at the studio now. He says it's important."

"Urgh, why?"

"I dunno, can you pick me up?"

"Yeah, sure. See ya in a minute."

"Bye."

Shuichi pressed end and jabbed in Fujisaki's number. As he expected the green haired boy agreed without any hesitation, which annoyed him no end. He wondered if the keyboardist had ever been curious about anything in his life. Outside, he heard the roar of the bike's engine as Hiro pulled up outside Yuki's apartment block. Grabbing his hoody and keys Shuichi poked his head in the kitchen to see what Ryuichi was doing. As it turned out he was staring entranced in front of the oven's glass door. He'd be all right for half an hour on his own Shuichi thought heading for the door. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fifteen minutes later the two friends walked through the sliding glass doors of the studio, helmets in hand. 

"So what could this be about, do ya reckon?" Hiro asked running a hand through his hair. 

"Dunno. Hi Holly," Shuichi grinned at the American receptionist. "Where are we wanted?"

The brunette girl looked up from her computer screen and smiled a greeting. 

"President's office, you know your way."

"Thank you!" 

Still puzzled the two made their way to the lift and pressed the button, the doors slid open and they stepped inside the mirrored cube. Hiro pushed the illuminated button marked 16 and they began their ascent. They stood in silence, wondering at their own private thoughts; Hiro began to tap his foot in time to a song in his head. Subconsciously, Shuichi joined in as the floors flicked by. By the time they reached the sixteenth floor they were in full swing of their rendition of an old Grasper song, shoes squeaking on the lino floor they walked along corridors, as they drew up in front of the grand double doors Hiro strung his last note on an invisible guitar and Shuichi let his last note fall. They looked at each other and grinned sheepishly. Memories of their school days flittering in front of their eyes for a second as they knocked on the door. 

"Come in!"

Together they entered the room. Tohma was sat at his desk with his fingers steepled together and K was sat on a chair, as was Fujisaki. 

"Right, you're all here. I want to cut to the chase, this is how it is." Tohma began as the rest of Bad Luck took a seat. "I had a phone call about an hour ago from a friend of mine who had an interesting proposition. He's Director of a big string of clubs and things in England, and in memory of the old days he wanted to know if Nittle Grasper would do a comeback tour over there. However, I thought that a comeback tour sounded too much like one of these fallen bands coming back for the final greatest hits album that dies horribly, so I put something to him, how about a Grasper/Bad Luck tour?"

There was silence. The words had been spoken so quickly Shuichi had barely had time to register them before Tohma plunged on.

"He thought it would be a great idea, a way of promoting Japanese music overseas so he's holding the dates for us for another hour. I need an answer though."

"Yes."

Hiro and Shuichi glared at Fujisaki. At the same time they both burst into a tirade.

"What…Ayaka…About…Yuki?"

"Whoa! Chill!" He replied nonplussed.

"Look I need an answer. This could take you higher than you already are, what about topping three charts? Japan, America and Britain? It would be a first in the history of Japanese music. And it would be yours. Just think about it yeah? But quickly. You've got ten minutes."

Shuichi stared at Hiro, both their minds a mess.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Okay so there wasn't any of the party in it, but there will be next chapter I promise! I just get carried away with other things sorry… anyway thanks for getting this far. 

Shoa UK (aka Pyromanic Firework)


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